Brown University
Cornell
Mehta, Steeves Pace Women's Hoops Past Cornell in Finale, 91-69
3/5/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Freshman guard Shayna Mehta scored 24 points, rookie forward Erika Steeves posted a career-high 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Brown University women's basketball ran past Cornell University, 91-69, in its regular season finale at the Pizzitola Sports Center on Saturday night.
"We played the way that I thought we could all along," Brown head coach Sarah Behn said. "It's been a process. We played our best basketball of the year this weekend. I'm so proud of the seniors and all the kids on our team."
The Bears (15-13, 3-11 Ivy) scored 90 or more points in back-to-back games for the first time in program history with their victory over the Big Red (14-14, 6-8 Ivy). Brown topped Columbia last night, 91-64, to conclude the year with consecutive Ivy wins.
Prior to the game, Brown honored the three members of its Class of 2016 – Jordin Alexander (Fishers, Ind.), Natalie Ball (Orlando, Fla.), and Ellise Sharpe (Tipp City, Ohio) – for their hard work and dedication to the program over the last four years.
Mehta (San Francisco, Calif.) netted her 24 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field and 5-of-6 shooting from behind the arc. She posted 20 or more points for the fifth time on the year and for the third time in Ivy play.
Steeves (Montreal, Quebec) registered her 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting and 4-of-6 shooting from downtown. Her 11 rebounds marked the first double-figure rebounding game for a Bear since Jan. 4 and gave her the third double-double of her rookie year.
In her final game as a Bear, Alexander totaled 16 points, tied a career-high with seven assists, and added five rebounds. She concluded her Brown career with 1,018 points, tying for 17th all-time at Brown in career scoring with former teammate Sophie Bikofsky '15. Alexander will have another year to add to her career point total as she will play as a graduate student at Florida Gulf Coast University in 2016-17.
Junior Rebecca Musgrove (Plainview, N.Y.) tallied 10 points and six assists while sophomore Janie White (Clarksville, Tenn.) blocked two shots, giving her 101 blocks in her career.
As a team, Brown shot 11-of-17 (64.7 percent) on 3-pointers, including 7-of-10 shooting in the first half. Over their final weekend, the Bears hit 24-of-40 shots (60.0 percent) from beyond the arc.
The Bears split the season series with the Big Red after Cornell took an 85-70 decision on Feb. 5 in Ithaca, N.Y.
Brown took a 27-14 lead after the first quarter as the Bears concluded the opening period on a 13-3 run. Mehta accounted for seven points during the run, including a 3-pointer.
The Bears moved ahead 34-17 after an Alexander jumper with 6:58 to go in the second quarter. Still leading 38-23, Steeves hit back-to-back 3-pointers before Mehta canned a trey of her own to put the hosts up 47-23 with 2:45 left in the half. Brown took a 54-30 edge into the locker room. Mehta did not miss a shot in the first 20 minutes, making 6-of-6 from the field and 3-of-3 from 3-point land.
The two teams traded baskets in the third quarter with Brown maintaining a 76-50 edge through three quarters. Brown extended its advantage to as large as 30 points, 82-52, with 8:01 left in the fourth quarter.
For Cornell, Nia Marshall, Nicholle Aston, and Kerri Moran each scored 15 points. Moran completed the double-double with a game-high 12 rebounds.
